


All Those Little Things

by AngelAxexinf



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: 100-theme challenge, Gen, all those little things, one shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-11
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-15 10:02:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1300912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelAxexinf/pseuds/AngelAxexinf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All of the little moments in The Clone Wars (whether it be OC or canon) that I think would be nice to use. Each chapter has a theme, so this should stay interesting. They are going to be sad, funny, happy, and generally anything else in-between.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kiki looked in disdain at the blonde boy who stood before her. She knew who he was before he'd introduced himself—he was all any of the Masters could think about, and honestly, it was getting distracting.

The Chosen One…

The _Chosen_ One…

 _The Chosen One_.

By the third day, Kiki was sick of it. It seemed to be all the Masters could think about, and they were starting to pay special attention to this "Chosen One", anyone could see that. The only thing that hadn't happened yet was a formal introduction.

"Kiki, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Master Kenobi said, motioning to the short boy standing by his side. The boy only looked mildly interested on the outside, although in the inside, he seemed…scared.

Kiki would have analyzed this further had she not remembered that there was someone standing in front of her. "I'm Kiki," she said concisely, hoping her missing teeth weren't too exposed.

The blonde boy gave the barest of smiles, seemingly amused by her answer.

 _Glad to know I pleased_ someone _in this place_ , Kiki thought wryly. She would have turned around to leave had Master Kenobi not given her a stern look.

Oh, yeah. She was supposed to _bow_.

Kiki exaggeratedly bent at the waist, pointing one foot forward and sweeping her arms out at her sides in the blonde's direction. She sighed. "I'm Kirinak Layeri Jorani at your service, oh _Chosen One_ ," she said, putting in thinly veiled sarcasm.

Surprise jumped from both the boy and Master Kenobi, although Kiki wasn't sure why.

 _We'd never even told the younglings yet—she must have been sneaking around again_ , Master Kenobi thought. _We'll have to speak to her about this._

Oddly, Kiki's face fell, but she covered it up before the new kid could notice anything.

"I'm Anakin Skywalker," the blondie said before Kenobi could get anything in. His smile was a little wider, putting small dimples in his tan cheeks.

Kiki would have opened up more to this Anakin Skywalker had Obi-wan not interrupted the moment. "Kiki, I'll need to see you later. Come now, Anakin, we have some Force training to do." He gave a curt nod to Kiki and turned, Anakin Skywalker in tow.

At the last second, however, he turned and waved, mouthing "bye" to Kiki.


	2. Complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jax has a bit of an...issue.

"I'm…not really sure how I'm supposed to explain this…" Jax nervously rubbed the back of his bald head.

"Tell me what exactly you're feeling," Cord answered calmly, remaining still in his standard issue chair.

"Come on, it shouldn't be that hard to say what's on your mind. I do it all the time!"

Jax was having…problems…

Specifically: woman problems.

Cord was there because he was a good listener, and always gave the best advice, no matter the subject.

Edger was present because he'd invited himself.

"Easy for you to say, Edger!" Jax cried, slumping against the cold metal chair.

Cord gave both men a silencing look before wordlessly prompting Jax to continue.

"I…I wouldn't say that I loved her, but…" Jax, the ever-embarrassed trooper, turned bright at what he was trying to say.

"But you have feelings for her," Edger supplied.

"Well…yeah, but I—" Jax was getting exasperated again, and an exasperated Jax, was a mute Jax.

"Then I'm not really seeing the problem here—" Edger stood up to leave, stretching to pop the kinks in his back.

One look from Cord was enough to get him back in his seat, sitting quietly like an obedient cadet.

"But you want to identify your feelings for her," Cord said, his deep voice resonating.

"Yes…" Jax confirmed a little uncertainly.

"Tell me honestly how you feel about her," Cord said, crossing his legs. "What do you think of her?"

"I…I think she's…" Jax swallowed, "I think she's beautiful, and kind, and she's smarter than she says she is. She's strong under pressure, and you can tell she really cares for her men, and—" Jax cut himself off when he realized he was rambling, his face going from a muted pink to a violent dark red.

"Go on," Cord commanded, although gently. He didn't want to scare the normally nervous clone away.

"Her…her voice sounds nice, especially when she sings, although I bet she doesn't know that I've heard her…" Jax almost cut himself off again. "And she's a really amazing person, but sometimes I can see when she's in pain, even though she tries to hide it. And, it kind of hurts me when she refuses to accept help from you or me and she really needs it, and she keeps sacrificing herself, which can get…scary…"

"Would you say that you had strong feelings for her?" Cord asked, remaining neutral in his expression.

"I…I guess I would…it's complicated…but I'm not in love with her! No. Love is wrong…" Jax bit his lips, his clamped hands rubbing together nervously.

"Why is love wrong?" Cord's face twisted into something akin to puzzlement, but otherwise remained still.

"Because…because I'm a clone. We weren't made to love, we were made for war, and war is all I know. I have nothing I could possibly give her—"

"You could give her your affections," Cord cut in, easing out of his cross-legged position.

"M-my affections?" The alarmed look on Jax's face was enough to tell Cord that he'd misunderstood.

"If you really feel these things for her, then your affections would be enough for her," Cord said, clarifying what he meant. "Are you sure these are the things you feel for her?"

"Yes," Jax said confidently. "I am sure."

Cord still had a question he needed to ask Jax, and Jax could tell. Cord seemed almost…uncomfortable.

Almost.

"Now…Jax," Cord began. His tone was enough to tell Jax that this would be an awkward question. "Have you ever felt that you wanted to have—"

Jax's face lit up in bright red flames at what Cord was implying. "W-what?! N-no! I-I never felt anything like that before! That's _crazy_! I only—"

Edger, who had remained silent up until then, snickered.

That one move was enough to earn him a swat from Cord, who would never get physical with anything, no matter how annoyed.

Jax instantly fell silent, his shy and nervous self taking over the last bit of his confidence.

"Jax, it's okay if you've ever felt something like that. With what you're going through, it's completely normal to feel that you want to have—"

"But Cord, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do about this!" Jax cried, intentionally cutting Cord off. "It's getting harder and harder every day to concentrate on the most basic things. I just can't stop thinking about her."

"Then maybe you could tell her about this, you know, get it off your chest," Edger suggested, half shrugging a shoulder.

"No!" Jax said a little loudly. His face flamed back into bright red. "I'd never be able to tell her something like that. I don't know if…"

"If what?" Cord prompted quietly.

"If…she'll even accept me. I'm a clone…" Jax whispered, voicing his real fear.

Cord "hmphed" in thought. "You need to remain strong, Jax. I know from personal experience how hard this can be. Love is…complicated. But trust me, you'll make it through this." Cord leaned back in his seat.

Both Edger and Jax sat stunned. Cord knew what Jax was going through? Jax wanted ask who Cord had had feelings for, but he felt it wasn't his place.

Edger was the first to leave the med bay, Jax following close behind him, mumbling a quiet "thank you" on his way out.

Cord nodded curtly in his usual fashion of stoic quiet.

During that meeting, Jax had decided one thing.

Love.

Is.

Complicated.


	3. Rivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we learn about the social hierarchy of the clone troopers' mess hall and find out who Jax's rival is.

Jax looked across the mess hall to where the group of clones sat with General Jorani—no, not looked, _glared_ was more like it.

At the center of the small group was Marik—the clumsy, over-talkative clone with a boyish personality. He smiled easily and was always joking.

 _No wonder the General would rather sit with him…_ Jax thought solemnly, looking to down to his tray of unappealing food. Where Marik was completely comfortable with walking straight up to the General and asking a question, it would take all of Jax's courage to muster up even a decent sentence, and he would have to try to keep from running away the entire time.

Kiki's laughter filled the mess hall, her head falling backwards as her hair fell away from her face. "You actually had to go through that?" she asked, chuckles coming out between her words.

"Yep, but I'm better now, sir." Marik smiled brightly, all teeth and positive emotions.

"Well I should hope so," Kiki said.

Jax continued to glare in the general direction of the center table, munching angrily on whatever it was that was served in the mess hall.

"You jealous?" Edger asked, plopping down in front of Jax.

Jax started and almost choked on his food. "What? Jealous? _Why_ would I be jealous?"

"Because…" Edger asserted around a mouthful of food. "It takes you twenty years just to get the courage to _look_ at her, and another fifty to actually go up and talk to her. I would be surprised if the war was over and they already had kids when you finally—"

One well aimed kick to the codpiece from Jax was enough to silence Edger—if only for a moment.

"If you want to sit at that table, all you have to do is ask—it's never the same people anyway." Edger turned his head behind him to passively watch the goings-on of the popular center table. It was reserved for those of higher social status—like the men who had gotten praise from the pretty general, and a hand squeeze from the pretty general, or _a hug_ from the pretty general.

So basically, Marik was there _every day_.

Just at that moment, Marik looked up to their table, a puzzled look crossing his face. "Do you guys want to sit with us?"

Both Jax and Edger jerked, looking up from their trays. They shared a brief look up _"what?"_ before glancing back to Marik.

"I mean…it's just because you're the only two who ever sit there, so…" Marik shrugged a shoulder, giving the two men a hopeful smile.

Jax swallowed. They had a chance to move up in social hierarchy, _to sit with the general_.

"Sure," Edger called back, realizing Jax wouldn't be saying anything clever anytime soon. He subtly/not so subtly kicked Jax under the table to knock him out of his daydream. Jax stood with a start, picking up his tray as he walked to the center table.

They were both aware that more than half the mess hall was trying to discreetly watch them as they made their way from the social status of that of a peasant (which they practically were) to something equivalent to upper-middle class nobles.

Jax could feel the jealousy pouring in waves off of the clones that weren't invited to the center table—and he _liked it_.

In no time at all, they were at the center of the mess hall, and the clones that were already at the table were squeezing over to make room. Edger ended up on the end, and Jax was directly facing the General.

"Hello," she said, smiling brightly.

Jax's stomach did a flip-flop. He never actually thought he would have to _talk_ to the General. What was he supposed to say? He didn't want to come off as an idiot, although it was probably too late for that now. Jax did the best thing he could think of—he smiled shyly and nodded.

 _Nodding's cool, right? Of course it is. I'm not an idiot for nodding._ Jax thought, his eyes looking everywhere but directly at the Kiki. _Am I? Oh kriff, what if I get court martialed?!_

A kick from under the table (via Edger) and a burst of laughter from directly across from him startled Jax again. His face turned to all shades of hot pink before he realized she was laughing at something witty that Marik said.

 _She's so pretty when she laughs_ , Jax thought, watching her out of the corner of his eyes as he listened to the story Marik was telling. She smiled again, revealing two small dimples in her cheeks. _Dimples!_ Tiny insects flitted about in Jax's stomach, his breathing becoming a bit heavier.

That small twinge of something-other-than-jealousy was back again. Marik was always so cool and confident around the General, and he made her smile and laugh. Jax aimed his gaze back down to the food.

Marik didn't realize it, but he had a new rival.


	4. Rivals

Jax looked across the mess hall to where the group of clones sat with General Jorani—no, not looked, _glared_ was more like it.

At the center of the small group was Marik—the clumsy, over-talkative clone with a boyish personality. He smiled easily and was always joking.

 _No wonder the General would rather sit with him…_ Jax thought solemnly, looking to down to his tray of unappealing food. Where Marik was completely comfortable with walking straight up to the General and asking a question, it would take all of Jax's courage to muster up even a decent sentence, and he would have to try to keep from running away the entire time.

Kiki's laughter filled the mess hall, her head falling backwards as her hair fell away from her face. "You actually had to go through that?" she asked, chuckles coming out between her words.

"Yep, but I'm better now, sir." Marik smiled brightly, all teeth and positive emotions.

"Well I should hope so," Kiki said.

Jax continued to glare in the general direction of the center table, munching angrily on whatever it was that was served in the mess hall.

"You jealous?" Edger asked, plopping down in front of Jax.

Jax started and almost choked on his food. "What? Jealous? _Why_ would I be jealous?"

"Because…" Edger asserted around a mouthful of food. "It takes you twenty years just to get the courage to _look_ at her, and another fifty to actually go up and talk to her. I would be surprised if the war was over and they already had kids when you finally—"

One well aimed kick to the codpiece from Jax was enough to silence Edger—if only for a moment.

"If you want to sit at that table, all you have to do is ask—it's never the same people anyway." Edger turned his head behind him to passively watch the goings-on of the popular center table. It was reserved for those of higher social status—like the men who had gotten praise from the pretty general, and a hand squeeze from the pretty general, or _a hug_ from the pretty general.

So basically, Marik was there _every day_.

Just at that moment, Marik looked up to their table, a puzzled look crossing his face. "Do you guys want to sit with us?"

Both Jax and Edger jerked, looking up from their trays. They shared a brief look up _"what?"_ before glancing back to Marik.

"I mean…it's just because you're the only two who ever sit there, so…" Marik shrugged a shoulder, giving the two men a hopeful smile.

Jax swallowed. They had a chance to move up in social hierarchy, _to sit with the general_.

"Sure," Edger called back, realizing Jax wouldn't be saying anything clever anytime soon. He subtly/not so subtly kicked Jax under the table to knock him out of his daydream. Jax stood with a start, picking up his tray as he walked to the center table.

They were both aware that more than half the mess hall was trying to discreetly watch them as they made their way from the social status of that of a peasant (which they practically were) to something equivalent to upper-middle class nobles.

Jax could feel the jealousy pouring in waves off of the clones that weren't invited to the center table—and he _liked it_.

In no time at all, they were at the center of the mess hall, and the clones that were already at the table were squeezing over to make room. Edger ended up on the end, and Jax was directly facing the General.

"Hello," she said, smiling brightly.

Jax's stomach did a flip-flop. He never actually thought he would have to _talk_ to the General. What was he supposed to say? He didn't want to come off as an idiot, although it was probably too late for that now. Jax did the best thing he could think of—he smiled shyly and nodded.

 _Nodding's cool, right? Of course it is. I'm not an idiot for nodding._ Jax thought, his eyes looking everywhere but directly at the Kiki. _Am I? Oh kriff, what if I get court martialed?!_

A kick from under the table (via Edger) and a burst of laughter from directly across from him startled Jax again. His face turned to all shades of hot pink before he realized she was laughing at something witty that Marik said.

 _She's so pretty when she laughs_ , Jax thought, watching her out of the corner of his eyes as he listened to the story Marik was telling. She smiled again, revealing two small dimples in her cheeks. _Dimples!_ Tiny insects flitted about in Jax's stomach, his breathing becoming a bit heavier.

That small twinge of something-other-than-jealousy was back again. Marik was always so cool and confident around the General, and he made her smile and laugh. Jax aimed his gaze back down to the food.

Marik didn't realize it, but he had a new rival.


	5. Unbreakable

Bliz turned in his cot—again. The same nightmares he's been having for months now weren't fun.

PTSD wasn't fun.

Bliz sighed, giving up on sleep. He peered through the darkness to where the other command clones slept, a few snoring. _How do they do it?_ he wondered to himself. After each battle, or trip to the med bay, they managed to just _move on_ —he'd never heard anything like nightmares coming from them while they slept. Bliz turned over again, facing Rex who was on his right.

Rex normally suffered the most amount of losses between him and Bliz, and yet he never seemed to have any trouble just picking up and carrying on.

Bliz had to face it; compared to Rex and the rest of the command clones, he was the weakest.

He barely had his anger under control, he'd been seen as vulnerable and worthless by more men than he's care to count. He'd broken down into a vomiting mess after a particularly gruesome interrogation, despite everything the Kaminoans taught them to resist. He'd survived—barely. Bliz would always try to find a way to get left along after missions with high losses; he couldn't be seen with that much guilt on him after they lost good men.

On more than one occasion, he'd heard the other Commanders—particularly Wolffe—call him over-emotional because of the way he acted towards thing that were triggering to him or that pissed him off.

Didn't they see that he was trying his best? Being the youngest of the Commanders was not easy. Every single time, he could see them about to slip up and call him "kid" the way they do shinies.

If he could have been stronger, he would have—they should have known that.

Bliz turned over again, this time pressing his face into the flat pillow and trying for sleep again. He let out a heavy sigh, shoulders sagging. He wasn't even going to think about the amount of times when he'd lost a particularly good man and cried about it, whether under his helmet, in the shower, or before he went to sleep. He was a Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic—he should have been stronger than that.

 _I guess it's just easier to break you, then, huh?_ He thought, pulling the blanket upwards. Unable to breathe properly, he shifted his position so his head was facing right.

Rex was watching him.

Bliz stared back coolly, daring the Captain to say anything about the nightmare he'd had just a few minutes earlier. Just as it seemed that Rex would ignore Bliz and go back to sleep, he spoke.

"Haven't been sleeping well?" he whispered, sitting up quietly in bed. Earlier, he'd heard Bliz thrashing in bed, but knew that he would hate it if he said anything.

"I'm fine," Bliz bit out, avoiding eye contact.

Rex sat up fully in bed, scrubbing a palm tiredly over his face. "Talk."

Bliz started at the commanding tone. He glared in Rex's direction. "Why?"

"Something's bothering you. Was it from the last mission? I'm not going to let you sleep until you speak up." Rex rested his elbows on his knees, gazing at Bliz until the commander started squirming.

"It was just a nightmare, no need to worry yourself about it," Bliz whispered. His fingers picked at the sheets, staring up at the durasteel ceiling above him.

"How many men died?" Rex asked, leaning forward on his cot. He was determined to help Bliz, no matter what.

Bliz's throat instantly tightened as the images from his nightmare rushed back at him. He closed his eyes for a moment, forcing his breathing to stay in check. "A lot," he answered simply.

"I'm going to need a better answer than that, Bliz," Rex replied, knowing full well that he knew the exact number.

Bliz sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the cot, the bed frame groaning under the shift in weight. "How do you do it?" he asked softly, his voice barely even audible in the quiet room.

Rex had to strain his ears to hear what Bliz said. "How do I do what?"

Bliz ran his hand nervously through his short-cropped hair. "I don't know, just… _move on_. Don't you have nightmares?"

Rex was finally beginning to understand where this was coming from. "Yes, sometimes. But I don't let that distract me from my duty." He searched Bliz's face for some kind of reaction.

"I know but…" Talking about this was beginning to get harder and harder. Bliz let out another frustrated sigh. "It…it's just _hard_ , watching so many men die while you were commanding them." He still had to get used to the fact that good men were going to die, whether he liked it or not.

Bliz spared a glance up towards Rex. Golden Boy Rex—that was what everyone called him, more with jovial sarcasm, and adoration. He served under a renowned Jedi General, and the entire galaxy considered the 501st to be top notch.

The Broken Commander, and his Broken Men—that was what the others called Bliz and the 686th; it was never any kind of praise-worthy name.

Bliz wasn't sure if Rex knew it, but Rex was more than just a brother. Bliz looked up to him, often times trying to model the way he did things against the way Rex did his routine. That was part of the reason why he got both the Kama and the pauldron—he figured it would make everyone else respect him more.

Rex stood, popping his back as he made his way across the tiny space. He sat down next to the forlorn Commander, his added weight causing the metal frame work to creak again. "Listen, Bliz…" Rex began quietly so as not to disturb the others. "I know that being in Command can be hard—it certainly is never easy, but remember that you're fighting for your brothers that are still alive. That's what keeps me going, at least. Your men will never hate you for that."

"Being strong just doesn't seem like one of my better assets," Bliz replied. He folded his hands in his lap, spinning his thumbs around each other.

"Bliz, you may not be as strong as the rest of us—" Bliz flinched at the bluntly worded truth "—but you are certainly a resilient man. You've been through more harsh interrogations than I've been, and you're still going strong. There are good men I've known who didn't survive the same things you did. They weren't as unbreakable as you."

Bliz's throat tightened, and he took a deep breath before slowly letting it out again. He swiped at an eye, hoping Rex didn't notice. Bliz felt a large hand clamp down his shoulder, squeezing firmly but gently.

"Feel better?" Rex whispered, smirking softly. He softly patted Bliz's shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks," Bliz said, giving Rex a slightly watery smile. And he actually did feel better.

He was going to work toward being unbreakable.


	6. Obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Captain got a little bit of an issue with fried goods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rex is OOC in this chapter—sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Rex didn't care what his brothers said.

He was _not_ obsessed.

"I can't just enjoy a little snack every now then?" Rex asked, biting a piece of meat off of the stick. It was a little sweet and a little spicy at the same time, grilled to crispy-soft perfection and covered in an amazing glaze. It also came with a drink.

And the best part—it was _free_.

"No, not if you've been having that 'little snack' for the past two hours, sir! I think that poor old woman is about to drive you away from her stall," Kix, the medic of the 501st, said, itching to take the fatty kebab out of the Captain's hands. He'd had one, and he'd almost thrown up.

"Honestly, Rex, this is for your own good," Cody added as well, crossing his arms over his armored chest.

"And the problem is, it's not even just one stall, Captain, it's _almost all of them_." Kix glared down at Rex, who remained silent.

Rex wasn't even paying attention—he was too busy starting another kebab out of the jumbo box that he'd… _acquired_.

"Rex, are you even listening?!" Cody said loudly, wresting the box out of Rex's hands.

"Hey!" Rex lunged up to steal the box of snacks back. "I was—"

"Not anymore, Captain." Kix took the box and put it in the cold conservator of the medbay. He punched in the key to lock it, making sure Rex couldn't see over his shoulder.

Rex didn't care—those weren't his all-time favorite food from the fair anyway. "Well, thank you for keeping my food cold for me," Rex said, turning and walking out of the med-bay. Once he was out the door, he broke into a run. He only had six hours until everything in the stalls was only attainable by money.

And he had no money.

Sneaking out of the makeshift base, Rex swung around to the back of the fair, mentally checking off the stalls he had already visited.

Somewhere ahead of him, Rex could smell something sweet, and _fried_.

Making sure none of his men were around to see him, he rushed forward in as dignified a manner as he could manage for a starving Clone Captain and stood in line.

A small Twi'lek child in front of him looked up, his brown eyes growing to twice the size of his head. "Are you a _clone trooper_?"

For a single stunned, moment, Rex didn't know how to answer that. "Yes, I am kid…" he said, not entirely sure if he should even be speaking to children.

A small gasp of delight was heard from the little boy. "Did you fight in battles?" he squirmed, anticipating the answer.

Rex craned his neck to look above the heads of the people in front of him. Seven people in line and he would be allowed to order. "Yep, plenty of 'em."

"Did you kill droids?"

"Yes…"

"How about people?"

It was at this moment when the child's mother decided to turn around. "Don't bother the man!"

"I was just asking questions—" The kid pouted.

"Face forward, Rocco." The woman smiled apologetically at Rex. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, ma'am." Rex answered automatically. He shifted anxiously in his place, waiting for the line to move forward.

Rocco turned around again, this time discreetly so as not to alert his mother. "I think you're cool!" he stage whispered.

Rex smiled under his helmet. "Thanks, kid."

The line moved forward. Rex's stomach growled.

Centimeter by tiny centimeter, the line crawled before it came to a stop in front of Rocco and his mother.

Rex's stomach growled even louder, and he was about to subtly punch himself in the gut when he was in the front of the line.

 _Finally_.

Rex looked to the fried foods in front of him, choosing a few, and then a few more. _Yep, this should be good_ , he thought, turning on his heel and walking back to the barracks.

And so Rex continued, eating as many fatty and processed foods as his stomach would hold.

**##**

"Now, what did I tell you?" Kix looked unsympathetically to the Captain on the bed.

Rex held his stomach and glared from his fetal position on the mattress. " _Shut up_."

"This is exactly why we told you not to eat so much of that stuff, Rex!" Cody scolded. He crossed his arms and matched Rex's glare. "And now the poor captain's got a tummy ache."

Rex only groaned and resumed his pattern of slow breathing. It normally kept him from throwing up.

"Well I've got work to do," Cody said after a moment. "Kix, make sure he doesn't eat anymore of that stuff, will you?"

Kix nodded and pulled up a chair beside Rex. "If you ever need anything sir—"

"I said _shut up_ Kix!" Rex groaned and rubbed his belly.

* * *


	7. Eternity

Jax held Kiki in his arms, the bright lights if the medbay highlighting every bloody scar and bandage on her unconscious body.

He was completely sure this was against regs, but what had once been him simply lifting her head to change her pillow soon turned to his arms around her as she murmured in a half-drugged sleep.

Gently, _ever so gently_ , Jax stroked her shiny black hair, savoring moments like these where he could be left to his thoughts while he was having some form of physical contact with her without possibility of immense embarrassment.

Jax sighed softly, shifting more so that Kiki's head was against his chest, just by his heart. He looked down onto her sleeping face, to her naturally dark pink lips (turns out, she wore lipstick) and the small dark freckled that peppered her nose and cheekbones. Jax brushed a thumb against one of the freckles, just under her eye. Despite all of the injuries she'd sustained, her skin still remained soft.

Kiki stirred, muttering something as her eyes fluttered open. She turned her head to one side, then the other as her dark purple gaze met Jax's, drugs keeping her groggy.

Jax's first reaction was to freeze in complete terror, his mouth hanging slightly agape at the realization that he'd just been caught. His immediate reaction after that was to try to slide away from Kiki in hopes that the drugs from her IV drip would prevent her from remembering this.

Jax looked up to see that the IV was empty.

With slightly more frantic movements, Jax carefully lifted Kiki's head.

"No…wait…" Kiki muttered, placing a hand against his chest in protest.

Jax froze in fear more than obedience.

Kiki pressed her head firmly against Jax's chest, one hand reaching up to place below his collar bone while the other went around his waist. "I…I can hear your heart beat…"

 _This has to be the drugs talking,_ Jax thought, his face of frozen terror changing to that of confusion. "Sir?"

"I can hear your heart…" she repeated, her speech slightly slurred. "It sounds nice…but it's a lil' bit fast…"

As if on cue, Jax's heart raced to staccato beats within his chest, his breathing matching pace. "Sir I-"

"No… _shh_ …" she whispered, closing her eyes in almost concentration. "I like it…please don't go…"

Jax felt every fiber in his muscles twitch, screaming at him to make a break for it before she fully woke up and recognized him.

"Don't go Jax…I like your heart…" she breathed, pressing her hand over it.

 _Just my kriffing luck…_ Jax thought. Without warning, Kiki shifted her weight so she was more in his lap, resting peacefully against his chest.

"But there's no need to make your heart so fast, Jax…" she said. "It needs to slow down…it could get hurt…"

Jax felt slightly touched at her concern for his heart, but if she thought that he would have control over the break-neck speed that his heart was currently pounding at, she was dead wrong.

A slight _whoosh_ of the door behind him signified that someone had entered the medbay.

Jax turned his head to see that Cord, the head medic of the 686th, had entered the room and stood standing by the door.

The expression on his face showed the _slightest_ hint of…tired.

He wasn't necessarily annoyed that Jax had been hugging the General while unconscious _again_ , it was the fact that he would have to deal with a half-drugged Kiki _again._ And that most certainly wasn't fun.

"Hiiii Currr!" she said loudly with new-found energy. She removed one of her arms from around Jax's waist to wave it lazily but enthusiastically at Cord.

Cord silently nodded in return, waving his hand at Jax when he tried to explain why the General was basically in his lap.

If there was one thing that Cord would silently muse to himself in the quiet med bay, it was the fact that Jax wasn't the first trooper to visit and talk with the general when she was unconscious. There'd been hand holding and loving gazes, and each time Cord had sworn to keep the red-faced troopers' secrets. "Five minutes," he said as he walked into his private "office"/large storage closet.

Kiki watched Cord leave with mild interest. "Why's your heart still fast?" she asked, staring directly into his eyes. She moved her body, showing no signs of pain as went to sit directly on Jax's lap, her chest pressing against his. "Can you try to match it with mine?" The side of her face brushed against his, her arms wrapping around his neck.

Jax's breath hitched in his throat, the speed of his heart only hiking farther. And yet, he found himself positioning his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. Her warmth permeated his armor as he gently rested his cheek against hers, forcing himself to breathe slowly.

Eventually, his heart beat slowed to match the steady _thud-thud_ of hers.

"There's no need to be afraid, Jax…" Kiki said softly, sounding like the drugs had suddenly worn off.

Jax was about to pull away when Kiki's voice stopped him again.

"Okay, Jax? Can you trust me?"

Jax could have stayed there hugging Kiki for infinity, with no sense of fear controlling his actions.

"Yes. I trust you."


	8. GateWay

Jax was more than uncomfortable.

Yes, he needed advice.

No, he did not expect to get it from _here_.

At Edger's pushing, they'd gone to a local tavern on the planet in search of the answer to a seemingly simple question: how does one win over a woman's heart?  
Jax pretended that he didn't actually need the advice, that Edger had started to fancy one of the local women and was looking for customs of showing affection.

He pretended, but it didn't do much help.

"So, I hear you've got yer eye on a pretty lady?" The guy sounded like a pirate. Jax wasn't very sure of how reliable the two people they were speaking with were.

"I never said—" Jax had no intention of explaining anything to anyone.

"Yep," Edger interrupted. He was good at that. "He's got it pretty bad—can barely even look her in the eye, let alone talk to her. He's so shy."

"T-That's not true…" Jax mumbled, ducking his head.

"It stinks because we're soldiers, so we kind of _have_ to talk to her." Edger crossed his arms and leaned back in his wooden chair. "Anything you can do to help?"

An old woman who was also sitting at the small round table stared at Jax. "Has he got a fear of other women as well?" Her accent made her Ws come out as Vs.

"I don't have a fear of—" Jax just wanted to leave the planet, crawl into his bed, and not leave for the next one thousand years.

"Yep, it gets worse when they're adults. Little girls he's fine with, teenagers make him jumpy, and then grown women he's terrified of, although the ones that are grandma-aged don't scare him away as much," Edger supplied. "He's kinda messed up."

Jax could only stare in horror as his face heated up.

"And what's this woman like?" the man asked, sipping his ale.

"She's a blue-skinned Verocian—purple eyes, freckles, and very curvy."

"Ah, Verocians tend to be like that," the man said.

"You should tell her how you feel," the woman said, giving Jax a pointed look. "Don't be afraid, my son. I'm sure she won't bite you."

"Or maybe get 'er a little something small 'n' sweet, like candy," the pirate-like man said.

"We don't have that much money, but I think he'll be able to buy her something." Edger looked to Jax. "Well? What do you think?"

Jax didn't _want_ advice on how to approach women. He wanted to get out of the tavern and take a walk before he hit Edger.

"I don't want advice," Jax said, annoyance tingeing his voice. "If anything, I want to know how to make what I feel _go away_."

The man and woman sat in stunned silence for what seemed like ages. "Ye want to make yer love _go away_? But why?"

The old woman flew into a flurry of words in a different language—most likely swear words—, her fingers pointing wildly at Jax. The man tried his best to placate her while also struggling to understand what it was that Jax wanted.

"I can barely concentrate when she's around; I feel jittery and shaky and I _always_ make a fool of myself." Rarely did Jax raise his voice; he'd attracted the attention of a few of the patrons in the tavern.

"You can't make love disappear, my son," the woman said, seemingly calmed down. "It would be a terrible world to live in if people could love as they pleased." She leaned forward in her seat just a little fixing him with a pointed stare. "The only way to make you more confident is for you to go up to her and _tell her_ how you feel." Her tone left no room for argument.

Jax sat in silence, glaring at the table. He eventually relented, his shoulders sagging as he let out a sigh. "Is there any way for me to…get to know her?" he mumbled.

Edger felt secretly proud that he'd managed to get what Jax _really_ wanted out of this little trip. "You could talk to her during lunch or something," he offered.

"And how well does that normally turn out?" Shy-by-nature Jax barely spoke to _anyone_ in the mess hall.  
"There is this thing that the teenagers of this town do," the old woman said. "Something like…group dating? I don't know. Maybe you would be more comfortable around her if there were other people nearby." She was also very proud of her idea, as shown by the way she sat back in her chair with a nod and a satisfied 'hm'.

"We could…start with that, if you like?" Edger said, patting Jax's shoulder. "Yeah, we'll all have lunch in the mess or something, and I'll arrange it so that you don't have to talk to her too much, but like you're still open to conversation."

Jax had no clue what that meant, but he was willing to go along with anything by this point. "Okay," he said.

"You know, I heard this one thing…"

Jax mentally prepared himself for another one of Edger's horrible analogies.

"Something like…love is a gateway—no no no, her _heart_ is the gateway, and love is the key. Yeah—no wait! Love is some kind of key _and_ gateway—"

Jax always knew Edger's analogies were crap, but this was the worst he'd ever screwed it up. "Give it up, Edger."

"I think what he's trying to say," the man spoke, "is that only you've got the key to 'er heart, lad."

Edger nodded enthusiastically. " _That's_ what I was trying to say." He clapped Jax on the back again. "Once we get back to the _Radiant_ , we'll set this up, alright?"

"Alright," Jax muttered. He was already dreading the hour of his sure demise.

"It'll all be good." Edger was already planning how the seating would be arranged.

Jax knew not to trust Edger's judgment.


End file.
